Monday, December 3, 2012

Year In Review: Our Holiday Letter

For Unto Us a Child Was Born and Other 2012 Adventures

Sincerest Greetings Family and
Friends,

It’s hard to believe another
year has past. Last time I wrote our holiday letter I was doing my best to
impersonate Santa’s girth (bowl full of jelly and more!) Zoe Suite Mangum
officially joined our family December 7, 2011. And with me now being of “Advanced
Maternal Age” (medical jargon, not mine) Danny and I are taking the “one-of-each”
status as heaven’s way of telling us, we’ve been just fruitful enough.

Although she’s not even
officially one, Zoe is trying to beat her brother’s records in gross motor
skills advancement. She loves playing on any stairs, was taking steps at 10
months and is currently “toddling” everywhere – it’s heart breaking. Z has a
killer laugh and an infectious giggle. She also has chunkaliscious thighs that
complete strangers long to squeeze (and often do). At 27 pounds (basically 100
percentile for height and weight), with ethereal blue eyes and angelic curls,
she reminds me of the Gerber baby poster child. Like Mary Poppins, she’s
practically perfect in every way. And she speaks mandarin Chinese (ok, maybe
I’m stretching that last part a little bit), but she does say “Da-Da” a lot.
And her favorite thing (besides nursing and playing on stairs) is her brother. The
picture of Z in her blessing dress my mom made and Holden was taken earlier
this year – long before we ‘buzzed’ off Holden’s cherubic locks for summer and
Zoe’s had grown in.

Holden’s haircut was not the
only thing that made him adopt Pinocchio-Status – “I’m a real boy!” Between
starting preschool, and his last year in nursery at church, it’s official -
he’s a “kid.” And in his words, “growing bigger and bigger to go on the Hulk”
(yes, the rollercoaster at Universal Studios). This year I had to come to terms
with the fact that EVERY class he tried out he liked better than yoga. He did
some tumbling and gymnastics classes, had a week of Montessori Science Camp and
I gave him a few swim lessons, though most of his water skills (like floating
on his back) were self taught through hours at his grandparents pool. Holden’s at
that awesome age where almost everything that comes out of his mouth is
charming. Thank goodness for facebook and twitter that have chronicled a good
portion of his one-liners. Here’s a sample of some of our favorite recent conversations:

Me: Are you excited for preschool?

Holden: I’m excited for PG-13 movies.

Holden: I learned it at Monkey School.

Me: Where’s Monkey School?

Holden: You just go past Sugarhouse, forwards and backwards and past
Pancakes-R-Us.

**Side note, Pancakes-R-Us is code for IHOP – which we ate at once
after he repeatedly requested it – I will not go back. And Holden knows why: “Because
they don’t have real whipped cream, Mom?” Exactly.**

Holden: Mom I want a snack.

Me: You need breakfast first.

Holden: Fine, I'll have dessert.

Another conversation like this
happened just this morning as he asked for milk.

Me: We don’t have anymore. You drank the rest of it this morning. But you
can have a water.

Holden: I’ll just have a coffee.

Holden (fake-coughs at the
breakfast table and says): Mom I need
some medicine.

He does awesome things like
invent his own superheroes and uses phrases like “That’s what I’m talkin’
about” and “Yeah, baby!” He ‘helps’ me in the kitchen and continues to work on
his baking skills. He can spend hours entertaining himself with play-dough and
blocks – creating plotlines and “epic battles” (again, his phrasing). In
addition to his love of “shows” (must be my Dad’s gene), the kid has an almost
preternatural obsession with superheroes.

As for the grownups in the
house: Danny has been rocking-it at Mountain West Small Business Finance. He
got a promotion from his role as Credit Analyst; and is now doing some business
development work and is a Loan Officer and Vice President. He told me that
pretty much everyone in the banking industry is a Vice President, but I think
he’s just being humble.

One of the many perks of MWSBF
is travel. Danny “had” to spend a week on an Alaskan Cruise (Zoe and I were technically
invited, but couldn’t bear leaving Holden behind). Fortunately a NADCO
conference in Florida meant the whole family got to enjoy a fun and fantastical
week in Orlando at DisneyWorld and Universal Studios. Add the fall nights at
the swanky St. Regis in Deer Valley, for yet another work conference, and I feel
very comfortable saying we’re enjoying Danny’s new job. He heads back to school
in January to get a Masters Degree from Utah State’s Executive program.

For moi, life as a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom) remains challenging, yet
rewarding, as I continue my search to find and live a more perfect --
eco-friendly and au natural
–parenting philosophy. (Just for the record, I believe the practical
application should always involve cupcakes). Holden and I continued our
tradition of gardening this year, and my mom helped me further my canning
skills.

While I’ve been known to be a
bit passionate about politics, this year the election cycle was super-charged
as I got the opportunity to work on the Howell for US Senate Campaign – as the
Campaign’s official blogger, and I even had a stint as their Communications
Director. It’s always nice to be needed, and we fought the good fight, but
ultimately just couldn’t compete with the a six-term incumbent sporting a $12-million
war chest. It was certainly an all-hands-on deck affair; and the family played
a huge role. One consultant from California said the Howell team was the only
campaign meeting he’d been in that children attended (Z joined me for more than
one staff meeting and Holden even kept toys at the office). It was a crazy and
amazing experience, and I am so thankful I got the opportunity to participate.

I’m excited to start teaching yoga
at the Shiva Centre Studio after the New Year, and hoping that maybe Zoe will
show more of an interest and aptitude for Yoga than her brother. Perhaps if my
son understood the Hulk’s anger issues could be quelled through mediation,
Holden might be more interested.

The other big news is that we’re
heading to Disneyland with Danny’s family after the Thanksgiving Holiday for an
early Christmas present; so by the time this reaches you we may very well be
living it up at the Magic Kingdom.

We hope your holidays and the
coming year are also magical. We are truly blessed in every aspect of our lives
and wish you and your family a joyous merry and bright 2013.

The Mangums – Danny, Sabrena,
Holden and Zoe

For sporadic updates throughout
the year visit at www.suitespots.blogspot.com or